Accessing Google Artifact Registry from Different Projects: A Guide
Problem: You've built a container image in one Google Cloud Project and want to use it in another project. How do you grant access to the image in Artifact Registry without sharing the entire repository?
Rephrased: Imagine you have a bakery (Project A) and you've created a delicious cake recipe (container image). You want to share this recipe with your friend's cafe (Project B) but don't want to give them access to your entire bakery's recipe book (repository). How do you do it?
Solution: Google Artifact Registry offers a flexible way to manage access by providing granular controls through Service Accounts and IAM Policies.
Scenario:
Let's say you've built a container image for your application in Project A and stored it in Artifact Registry:
gcloud artifacts repositories create my-repo \
--location=us-central1 \
--project=project-a-id
gcloud artifacts docker push \
us-central1-docker.pkg.dev/project-a-id/my-repo/my-image:latest
Now, you want to use this image in Project B.
Code:
Here's how you can grant access to Project B:
-
Create a Service Account in Project A:
gcloud iam service-accounts create service-account-id \ --display-name="Artifact Registry Access" \ --project=project-a-id -
Grant
Artifact Registry Readerrole to the Service Account:gcloud artifacts repositories add-iam-policy-binding \ my-repo \ --role roles/artifactregistry.reader \ --member="serviceAccount:[email protected]" \ --location=us-central1 \ --project=project-a-id -
Download the service account key:
gcloud iam service-accounts keys create key.json \ --iam-account [email protected] -
Set up authentication in Project B:
- Add the downloaded key to the
~/.config/gcloud/application_default_credentials.jsonfile. - Set the environment variable
GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALSto the path of the downloaded key.
- Add the downloaded key to the
-
Pull the image from Project A in Project B:
gcloud artifacts docker pull \ us-central1-docker.pkg.dev/project-a-id/my-repo/my-image:latest \ --project=project-b-id
Analysis and Clarification:
- Service Accounts act as an identity within Google Cloud, allowing you to grant access to specific resources without sharing your entire account credentials.
- The
Artifact Registry Readerrole gives permission to view and download images from a repository. - IAM Policies define access control at the resource level, allowing for granular control over who can access what.
Additional Value:
- This approach ensures secure access to your container images while maintaining control over your project resources.
- You can use this method to grant access to multiple projects without sharing your entire repository.
- By leveraging service accounts, you can automate the process of granting and revoking access.
References and Resources:
This guide provides a comprehensive approach to sharing your container images securely between different Google Cloud projects, enhancing collaboration and resource management within your organization.
